A special parks, arts, and recreation meeting was held on Tuesday to discuss the possible addition of artwork and fitness structures to the city of Turlock.
The newest additions to the city could create opportunities for California State University Stanislaus, (Stan State) students in the process.
The meeting began with a presentation from the Turlock Sunrise Rotary to update the council on the success of the Donnelly Park Playground Project.
The Pitman High School boy’s basketball team was there to receive recognition for their volunteer work. They and their coach assisted in weatherproofing the park. “The good thing about basketball team’s, you don’t need a ladder,” the Turlock Sunrise Rotary presenter said.
The council then began discussing Mayor Gary Soiseth’s most recent Mayor’s Public Policy Award to “jumpstart” a mural program.
However, upon listening to a presentation given by Stan State’s Assistant Professor of Sculpture, Jake Weigel, the council came to realize that artwork for the city could far exceed a mural on a wall.
Weigel stated that he would be working with Mayor Soiseth and students from Stan State to find places in Turlock in need of additional visual interest.
Kolaya Wilson (senior, BFA, sculpture emphasis) stated that an excellent place to begin would be Turlock’s main town settings where the public were most likely to visit. She added that the Regal Turlock Stadium 14 plaza was yet another “hotspot” place for potential artworks.
“Start on West Main by local businesses and stores,” Wilson said. “Then projects will have the opportunity to expand.”
Park routes were also thought of as potential areas to place art in the forms of sculpture gardens, according to Weigel.
Weigel stated that surveys were conducted to evaluate what structural characteristics Turlock visitors and residents would most like to see within the city limits. The results showed that most individuals wanted interactive and playful structures that held a history.
Color and diversity were also characteristics requested of the art pieces during the surveys, according to Weigel’s data.
Wilson was excited to hear about the city’s latest initiative to work with students from Stan State. Mayor Soiseth stated that the project would be a long-term effort.
Following was a presentation was given by the Director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities’ Allison Vanguilder. A YouTube video on the National Fitness Campaign’s (NFC) movement was played for the audience. The purpose of the NFC was to give the public easy access to “world class fitness” for free.
 According to Vanguilder, the idea came from Commissioner Brent Bohlender.
“Once he presented it to us, it created that conversation about fitness amenity and amenities in general,” Vanguilder said. “This was another option that we had not been aware of, and so now it’s just sort of sparked the conversation of, ‘What exactly do we want to have in the community?’”
Vanguilder stated during her presentation that her department would be further investigating exactly what “practical obligations” there would be to maintaining the structure.
“We’ve been tasked with kind of looking at that closer to see what we come up with. We’re excited about it,” Vanguilder said.
District 2 Councilmember, Gil Esquer, asked the audience how many of them possessed a gym membership and used it on a regular basis. Few raised their hands in the crowd.
The NFC’s video stated that the court is designed to assist “people at all fitness levels.”
Within 45 minutes, the meeting adjourned, and more people filed into the Yosemite room in the upstairs chambers of Turlock’s City Hall for the regularly scheduled council meeting at 6:00 p.m.
For more information on Turlock’s next city council meeting dates click here.